Saturday, August 31, 2013

Fact: The last person ever to be executed in Iceland was
Agnes Magnúsdóttir for her part in the murder of Natan Ketilsson and Pétur
Jónsson. Agnes and her accomplice Fridrik Sigurdsson, were beheaded on January
12, 1830.

Fact: Agnes spent the months leading up to her
execution with a family at Kormsá.

I could go on. This book’s story is fictionalised fact
and as such is beautiful, thought-provoking and totally heartbreaking. In a narrative
told from various points of view the reader is introduced to Agnes while she is
being held prisoner under conditions you wouldn’t submit an animal to. When she
is moved to a new location at Kormsá she is filthy, weak and sullen. The
Jónsson family she is to stay with until her sentence will be executed, is
anxious and hostile, faced with the prospect of harbouring a convicted
murderess under their roof. Assistant reverend Thorvardur (Tóti) Jónsson is
given the task of seeing to the soul and redemption of Agnes, as requested by
her. During her months at Kormsá, Agnes slowly shares her story. We read about
her desperate childhood, her hard life, the short glimpse of hope and the devastation
that followed.

This is a fascinating story for various reasons. The
fact that everything written in this book is based on real events makes this a
harrowing tale to read at times. The murders, as described in this book, are
gruesome and the way Agnes is initially portrayed makes it all too easy to
believe that she is the cold-hearted murderess her judges make her out to be.
It is only as Agnes slowly opens herself up to Tóti and to Margrét Jónsson that
the reader is getting an insight into who this woman was, what may have led to
the murders and what, if anything, her role in those may have been. By the time
the axe has fallen and the story is finished, it is up to the reader to decide
for themselves what to think of this woman, and what to believe – about her and
about what exactly happened.

The story is told in a wonderful way. The words used
are sparse yet lyrical. On these pages the rough and barren landscape of Iceland comes
alive. The claustrophobic living quarters, the isolation of some people, the
harsh living conditions and the brutal weather all enhance the feeling of gloom
and despair in this story.

I loved the way in which the developing relationships
between the characters in this story are described. The gradual transition from
out and out hostility to something almost resembling kinship is made all the
more realistic by the fact that there is no clear turning point. The Jónsson
family and Agnes, being forced to live and work together in a small space for
an extended period of time, get closer to each other almost despite themselves.
By the time Agnes is taken away to face her sentence it is clear to the family
that the woman who is leaving in no way resembles the monster they initially
believed her to be. And, most heartbreakingly of all, Agnes is taken to her
death from what has probably been the best house and family she has ever stayed
and worked with.

I liked the way the author plays with her readers in
this book. We know that what we are reading is fictionalised fact and as such
know that not everything we read is completely true. We know that the author
has no way of knowing what Agnes may have thought and felt at the time or even
what exactly happened on the night of the murders. Hannah Kent puts an
interesting spin on this idea by making Agnes into a not quite reliable
narrator:

“This is what I tell
the Reverend.”

Is she just spinning him a tale, portraying herself in
the best possible light? Or is this just a statement of fact? Hannah Kent
cleverly leaves it up to the reader to make that decision, and in doing so
makes the story even more intriguing than it already was.

The language in this book is beautiful and
thought-provoking:

“It was only later
that our tongues produced landslides, that we became caught in the cracks between
what we said and what we meant, until we could not find each other, did not
trust the words in our own mouths.”

Time and again sentences like that forced me to stop reading
to think about what I had just read and marvel at the depth and beauty.

It is hard to believe that this is Hannah Kent’s first
novel. This book is so beautifully written and so wonderfully well constructed
that it feels like the work of a seasoned author with years of experience. If
this book sets the standard, than us readers have some treats to look forward
to from this author in years to come.

Finally, I want to end this review with an Icelandic
saying I came across in this book. A saying that will resound in the soul of
everybody who loves reading:

Thursday, August 29, 2013

As a model, Jemma is used to being the
centre of attention. And when Dominic Vane, the world-famous photographer, asks
her to pose for him, she knows it's not just her pictures he's interested in.

But in a world where pleasure is pursued
above all else, will falling for Dominic's masterful touch come at too high a
cost?

From
the glamorous South of France
to the luxuries of Monte Carlo,
A Private View will take you on
a wild journey of sexual discovery.

=================================================

As blurbs go, this is not the best
one I’ve come across recently. Yes, Jemma is indeed a model. Yes, Dominic Vane
does want her to pose for him and yes, the story does take us to the South of
France, but other than that?

I would describe this book along
these lines:

Jemma is a successful model who is
pleasantly surprised and intrigued when Dominic Vane, a famous erotic
photographer, invites her to pose for him. Having an adventurous nature and
healthy sexual appetite, Jemma imagines that the time she will spend with him
will be a lusty combination of art and sex. And she’s not completely wrong.

From the moment she meets Dominic
it is clear that he’s attracted to her, but he flat out refuses to touch her
intimately. While that is frustrating enough for the easily stimulated Jemma,
the fact that she appears to be the only woman he doesn’t want to touch
infuriates her even more.

During her time in the South of
France Jemma will have numerous sexual encounters with various people. But
getting Dominic to act on the attraction he obviously feels for her may just be
one seduction too far. Unless Jemma can figure out why Dominic is so afraid to
be intimate with her and help him overcome those fears.

And that is more or less the
complete story in this book. Because in reality this book is more or less a
collection of sexual encounters between Jemma and numerous other people.

Don’t get me wrong. As you may have
noticed I rather enjoy my erotic novels and don’t shy away from even the most
explicit stories. But, and there lies the rub, I do like there to be a real
story to accompany the sex. And in this book there was very little story to
back up all the sexual encounters.

I had a few other issues with this book as well. For
starters: early on in the story we read the following passage:

“For too long she had been stuck with predictable, reliable Steven,
using their life together as an excuse for not pursuing a more hedonistic,
sensual lifestyle that she could truly embrace and enjoy.”

Which would be fine provided this Steven was indeed
predictable. But, from the glimpse we get of him, Steven comes across as
intriguing, adventurous and tolerant. What is more, they are supposed to be in
an open relationship so in theory at least, there shouldn’t be anything
standing between Jemma and the hedonistic, sensual lifestyle she is longing
for.

The writing is at times inconsistent. In one chapter
Jemma refuses to look at something only to muse about everything she saw, while
she was supposed to have her eyes closed, in the next chapter.

But what really got on my nerves after a while was the
repetitive way in which certain words were used.

So, what did I like about this book?

I liked the idea behind the story – the reason Dominic
refuses to touch Jemma and the consequences of his refusal and her persistence
in trying to change his mind. I can’t help feeling that a lot more could have
been made of that story idea though.

And, apart from the irritations I mentioned above,
this book was quite well and smoothly written and very easy to read.

If you’re looking for an easy to read book with a lot
of erotic content and not too much story-line or character development to get
in the way of all the action, you could do a lot worse than pick up this book.
If, on the other hand, you prefer it when the sexual action moves the story
forwards and aids the development of characters, this may not be the book for
you. For me this was a quick, easy and at times quite hot read, be it one that
won’t stay with me for very long.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

“A series of murders in New York City has stymied
the police and FBI alike, and they suspect the culprit is a single killer
sending an indecipherable message. But when the two federal agents assigned to
the investigation are taken out, the FBI takes a more personal interest in the
case.

Special Agent Ty Grady is pulled out of undercover work after his case blows up
in his face. He's cocky, abrasive, and indisputably the best at what he does.
But when he's paired with Special Agent Zane Garrett, it's hate at first sight.
Garrett is the perfect image of an agent: serious, sober, and focused, which
makes their partnership a classic cliché: total opposites, good cop-bad cop,
the odd couple. They both know immediately that their partnership will pose
more of an obstacle than the lack of evidence left by the murderer.

Practically before their special assignment starts, the murderer strikes again
– this time at them. Now on the run, trying to track down a man who has focused
on killing his pursuers, Grady and Garrett will have to figure out how to work
together before they become two more notches in the murderer's knife.”

Let me start with
saying that I need a new series to fall in love with like I need a hole in the
head. And yet, I allowed friends to convince me that I should really read this
book. And I did in the full knowledge that if I did like “Cut & Run” there would
be at least another six books I want to read. And - since I have friends with
good taste - I find myself loving the story and the characters in it and
frantically looking for ways I can convince myself that buying the sequels is
actually a necessity rather than a luxury and therefore not only allowed but
required.

And boy did I love
this book. From the moment I picked it up I was hooked. Ty Grady and Zane
Garrett had my attention from the moment they appeared on the page. Even while
they were hating each other and exchanging one rude remark for another the
chemistry between Ty and Zane is palpable while at the same time they made me
smile and at times laugh out loud. Once the hate turns into something else –
something neither of them is willing to name or fully acknowledge – the story
really kicks off. And that is just the romantic part of this story. The
suspense part is equally fascinating and addictive. The combination of the
reluctant attraction between these two men and the constant threat they’re facing
makes this an adrenaline filled read, near impossible to put down.

Usually when I read
“Romantic Suspense” I get impatient with either the romantic or the suspenseful
part of the story because I just want to know how the other part is going to
conclude. Not so in this book. I was just as eager to find out who is trying to
kill Zane and Ty as I was to see their volatile relationship develop.

What I really
admired in this book is that the authors didn’t go for miracle solutions for
either the relationship or the mystery. This relationship between two men who
each have enough issues to break a person down completely, was never going to
be smooth or easy and, thankfully, the authors didn’t give the story some
unconvincing twist to facilitate an unrealistic happily ever after. And the
same can be said for the mystery Ty and Zane are trying to solve. While they
did stumble on part of the solution by accident, it happened in a convincing
way and didn’t come with a sudden transformation from “completely clueless” to “full
insight”.

I loved that we get
this story from both Ty and Zane’s point of view. We can see both men struggle
with each other and with themselves. I liked that while both men had
heterosexual relationships in their pasts, there was no belly-aching over this
attraction to each other. While both of them had great difficulty sharing their
feelings with the other, or even acknowledging them to themselves, they just went
with their attraction and turned it into something beautiful and very erotic.
And, I can’t help feeling that the dynamics between these two men will only get
more intriguing and a lot hotter as the stories continue.

So, it may be clear
from what I wrote above that I loved this book. Then why, I hear you ask, did I
“only” grade it 4.5? There are a few reasons.

First of all I had
the killer pegged from the moment he entered the story. I was hoping it would
turn out to be somebody else but I turned out to be right. And while you might
think I’d relish the fact that I got it right in one go, I am in fact always a
bit disappointed when the big reveal doesn’t surprise me.

Secondly, I wasn’t
entirely convinced by the sudden change in character Ty and Zane went through
in the middle of the book. It certainly was intriguing but really didn’t make a
whole lot of sense even if more or less plausible reasons were provided.

My last and main
reason though is that I have been reliably informed that the books in this
series only get better. Rating this book 4.5 rather than 5 means that I will be
able to raise the score if it turns out that I indeed end up loving these books
and these characters more with every subsequent title.

Of course, falling
in love with a series of books this much leaves me in a bit of a quandary. As
much as I would love to read the next six books back to back I’ve committed to
too many reviews to give in to that urge. While I fully expect to read these
books in rather quick succession in the near future, those prior commitments
force me to take it slow. That is not altogether bad though; I know myself well
enough to realize that I’m going to be heartbroken when I finish reading the
last available title. So maybe I should be grateful that I don’t have a choice
but to take it slowly. After all, every successful relationship requires
patience.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Live
fast, die young–anything else is a fantasy for Six. She’s endured the worst the
sectors had to throw at her, but falling in with Dallas O’Kane’s Sector Four gang lands her in
a whole new world of danger. They’re completely open about everything,
including their sexuality–but she hasn’t survived this long by making herself
vulnerable. Especially not to men as dominant as Brendan Donnelly.

A
man without a past…

Bren
is a killer, trained in Eden
and thrown to the sectors. His one outlet is pain, in the cage and in the
bedroom, and emotion is a luxury he can’t afford–until he meets Six. Protecting
her soothes him, but it isn’t enough. Her hunger for touch sparks a journey of
erotic discovery where anything goes–voyeurism, flogging, rough sex. He has
only one rule: he won’t share her.

In
Bren’s arms, Six is finally free to let go. But his obsession with the man who
made him a monster could destroy the fragile connection they’ve forged, and
cost him the one thing that makes him feel human–her love.

God, did
I love this book. This is my third venture into the sectors, my third visit
with Dallas O’Kane and his people and with every single book I get drawn deeper
into that dystopian world. With every subsequent title I grow more attached to
the people in Sector Four. Every time I finish one of these books the need to
get my hands on the next installment grows more desperate. And, it has to be
said, this book is my favourite so far.

I mean,
what’s not to love? Two broken people - beaten so hard by life that they should
be on their knees, begging for mercy and yearning for death - finding each
other and the strength to love and trust although every instinct tells them not
to expose themselves to hurt once again.

Take
Six. A girl who hasn’t heard her given name for so long that she’s all but
forgotten it. A girl who has been used, abused, abandoned and betrayed so often
in her young life that it is a miracle she is willing to even consider trusting
some one again.

“I
don’t know if I’ve ever had a home before.”

But,
despite her history, despite every instinct telling her that it isn’t safe to
trust anyone, she is willing to try. Because of Brendan.

Bren –
sigh – at least as broken as Six, he goes out of his way to make her feel at
home in Sector Four and safe with him. He wants her, desperately, but refuses
to push her:

“I
wouldn’t do anything you didn’t want, but it doesn’t stop there. I wouldn’t do
anything you weren’t sure about, either.” (Bren)

And it
is the fact that Bren doesn’t ask, never mind force, her to do anything she
might be uncomfortable with that makes it possible for Six to start trusting
him. He seems to instinctively recognize her fears and needs and acts accordingly,
always careful not to push her further than she is comfortable with.

“But
he handled the bomb the way he handled her, every movement gentle, every touch
precise, as if he knew all the ways she could shatter into dangerous pieces.”

But Six
is not a weak damsel in distress. She may be uncomfortable with emotions, she
may find it impossible to believe that people could accept her just for what
she is, without judging her past, that doesn’t mean she is a whimpering mess.
She is a strong woman, determined to make herself stronger. And Bren helps her
get there, just by believing in her.

And
Brendan understands Six well enough to not ask her for anything she can’t give
him. All he wants from her is whatever she is willing to give him.

When his
past pushes itself between Bren and Six, both of them need to reflect. And both
of them need to listen not only to their hearts but also to the words of their
friends in order not to lose that which has so carefully been established.

“Trust
is the prize and the fight’s not about winning it or keeping it. It’s about
deserving it, and that’s a fight a man’s got to have with himself. Every
fucking day.” (Dallas to Bren)

I’ve
read other series of books; series centered on a group of people in which each
book concentrates on a certain relationship. When they’re done well, series
like that are a pure delight because they give the reader the opportunity to
keep any eye on past and future main characters, on how the world the story is
set in develops; it means that the reader really does get the opportunity to get
an answer to the question that so often springs to mind when a book is over –
“I wonder what will happen next”. But most series will only give the reader
glimpses of the other characters. They will surface as familiar names, be given
a token paragraph and disappear again to make room for the stars of the current
installment. What I LOVE about these books is that the authors take it further.
Yes, each of the Beyond titles concentrates on one developing relationship but
the older stories continue, the characters from previous books continue to
develop and play a real role and those who will feature in future books have
had their stories started in earlier titles. Kit Rocha has dropped her readers
into a world that becomes more established, more real, with every subsequent
title. You never stop learning more about this world and these characters, old
and new, and that, for me, is the ultimate reading experience; total
immergence.

The
story is perfect. We get the against the odds love story, the angst experienced
by both characters. There is a real and realistic dilemma almost tearing them
apart. Add to that a dark but convincing world, true loyalty and friendship,
strong women and tons of hot sex and you know you’ve found yourself one of
those reads that will stay with you for a long, long time. But, most
importantly for me, these books don’t have protracted drama. They don’t need
it. There are no easy solutions either, though. This is a story set in a
dystopian, fantastical world that feels more real than the setting in the
average contemporary novel does. Bring on “Beyond Jealousy”; especially after
that very enticing taster at the end of this book.

“He
had her. Beautiful, dangerous, flawed, lonely Brendan Donnelly had her, and she
was going to give him everything.”

The year is 2059; the place Scion London. For just under two
hundred years the people in England
have been divided into two groups; those who are capable of clairvoyance and
those who aren’t. For just under two hundred years those who have the sight,
can communicate with spirits and can touch the Aether - the spirit realm - have
been prosecuted. When clairvoyance was declared an epidemic, those capable of
it became outlaws; people to be hunted down, caught and eliminated.

Nineteen year old Paige Mahoney is one of those “cursed” with
clairvoyance and has been working for Jaxon Hall, a powerful crime lord, for
more than two years. As a dreamwalker, Paige is capable of entering other
people’s dreamscapes, a power Jaxon is determined to explore and exploit.

But Jaxon is not the only one with an interest in Paige’s powers.
When she has to use her powers to protect herself, Paige attracts the attention
of those whose existence she wasn’t even aware of. Her subsequent arrest should
have lead to a swift execution, but instead Paige finds herself transported to Oxford, a secret and
hidden place, ruled by non-human entities. A place where clairvoyance is not
only normal but also exploited to fulfill the needs and desires of the Rephaite
overlords.

From the moment she arrives, Paige’s only goal is to make it back
to London and
her friends; a wish which appears impossible. Assigned to Warden, Paige is put
through training which should prepare her to join the ranks of the clairvoyant
army protecting the secret city. But is that all her captors want from her or
do they have ulterior motives? And if they do, what might they be? Do all
Rephaite expect the same from her or are there divisions among their ranks as
well? Is the enigmatic Warden really Paige’s enemy or is there something else
going on? Whatever Paige may discover, one thing is for sure; her life is in
more danger than ever before and will never be the same again.

This is a difficult book to summarize in a meaningful way.
Samantha Shannon has created a credible and very complex world and throws her
reader into the middle of a character and action filled story. And, if I’m
honest, I have to admit that I felt a bit lost and confused while reading the
first part of this book. The world described in this book may resemble ours, it
is also very different. And with Seven Orders of Clairvoyance - each having
their own subdivisions and powers - it does get a bit hard keeping everything
straight in your head. And the same can be said about the characters; there are
enough of them in this book that the reader has to continuously pay attention
in order to keep them all separated.

The author does try to make it easier on her reader by not dumping
all the details about this world on them in one go. But, while this certainly
makes the reading easier and the story move faster, it also means that it takes
longer for the reader to get some understanding of what exactly is going on,
how this world works and who is playing what role in this story. Of course this
is the first title in a seven book series, and any world expected to entertain
the reader for that long has to be complex and well developed. And while I’m
full of admiration for the way in which Shannon
managed to create a realistic world and one I could easily picture in my mind,
I also have to admit that there were times when I was taken out of the story by
the amount of information I had to absorb.

But, and I can’t stress this enough, it is well worth sticking
with the story. Paige is a wonderful, strong, flawed and therefore completely
realistic main character and I found it impossible not to get caught up in her
fears, hopes and desires. The Warden is an enigmatic character that will keep
both Paige and the reader guessing for a long time. In fact, there were quite a
few things in this story that took me by surprise. Certain characters were
introduced and I would be convinced that I knew exactly what their role in the
story was going to be, only for my theory to be proven completely wrong. And I
do like it when an author manages to keep my on my toes and guessing.

I also greatly appreciate that although this book is the first
installment in a series and it is quite clear from the last pages that there is
a lot more story to come, the author didn’t leave her readers with a massive
cliffhanger. She did leave more than enough questions unanswered and facts
shrouded in mystery to make me very curious about where this story is going to
be taking us next, though.

It is hard to know how to categorize this book. There is a lot
that reminds me of Young Adult titles such as Twilight and The Hunger Games
while there are other aspects to this book that make it feel more like an adult
book. I know it is being marketed as a book for adults by the publisher but in
my opinion this is a perfect example of a crossover title. Anybody who enjoys a
well written, imaginative and thrilling story will get a kick out of this book.

While this is a great adventure story, set in an intriguing and
terrifying world and a definite page turner, this book is a lot more too. It is
a story about growing up, about being different and coming to terms with that,
about finding your own strengths and learning to rely on them, and most of all
a story about trust. This is not a predictable book, nor does it go for easy
answers; black isn’t always black nor is white always white. There were a few
surprises in this book that I didn’t see coming and I fully expect there to be
a lot more of those in the books to come.

And yes, I am looking forward to the rest of this story. I can’t
help feeling that with this world and its inhabitants having been established
in this first book, the subsequent stories will be even more intriguing and
captivating.

Samantha
Shannon turns out to be an author with a rich imagination and a good eye for
detail. She knows how to draw her readers into her world and keep them there,
captured by a need to know what is going to be happening next. I have no idea
when the second Bone Season title will be released but I do know I’ll be among
the first to read it when it does.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Chase Williams is a gorgeous
but painfully shy web designer whose long-term boyfriend dumped him for being
such a “nice” guy. Instead of meeting his buddies at the local bar for a drink,
he helps his elderly neighbor with a DIY project. When a wobbly step ladder
leads to a banged up wrist and a trip to the ER, Chase is convinced it’s the
worst night ever. Then he meets his handsome nurse.

Matt Owens is the boy next door who loves working in the busy ER. He’s more
than ready to clock out from his double shift until he meets his patient in Bed
4.

But will Matt’s attraction to Chase be enough to make him break his rule about
never dating patients?

============================================================

So, what is it that
makes a book a wonderful read for me? I’m not sure I can put my finger on what
exactly the secret ingredient(s) may be but I know one thing for sure. If I
have a huge, happy grin on my face once I finish a story it is a sure sign that
I found one of those very special little gems. And boy did I have a - probably
rather stupid - grin on my face when I put my reader aside and reflected on
what I just read.

Apart from the fact
that this is a charming story about two men meeting each other under less than
ideal circumstances and getting together despite the odds being stacked against
them – as if that isn’t enough – there is a lot to love in this novella.

I loved the banter
between these two men, the way they are teasing each other almost from the
moment they first meet in the emergency room. I adore that Matt and Chase
aren’t stereotypes. It is nice to have a story where the confidence and
insecurity seem to shift from moment to moment between the two characters.
Chase is a typical geek who loves his job and is usually quite happy in his own
company, something his former partner couldn’t or wouldn’t appreciate:

“I’m lame. Too boring. Too
nice. Not funny or outgoing or enough for him. I’m too much of a recluse for
Mr. Popular.”

And Matt has his
own reasons for avoiding getting too close with Chase, this hot patient he is
treating in the emergency room. But, and this is one of the things I love so
much about this book, there is no protracted drama. Neither of these men allows
their hang-ups to get in the way of instant attraction. As Matt says:

“What kind of idiot lets one
bad experience dictate how they live their life.”

I’ve recently found
myself getting really impatient with books in which one or more of the main
characters is forever second-guessing themselves and can’t express how
delightful it is to read a book in which the main protagonists get over
themselves and their insecurities and just grab the bull by the horns.

And the banter
between Matt and Chase. Did I mention how much I loved it? How could I not end
up smiling when faced with dialogue like this:

“Matt? Shut up and kiss me…My
pleasure. Shutting up now.”

Or, for one more
example, this:

“The things you moaned are
illegal in twenty-seven states, I’m pretty sure. But for you, I’ll try them all
once.”

If I had to come up
with one complaint about this book it would be that it wasn’t any longer. I
would have loved to spend another hour, day or even week with Matt and Chase. But, that is
not to say that this story isn’t long enough or feels rushed or unfinished.
Quite the opposite in fact. This is a perfectly constructed story; it tells the
reader what they need to know in order to get a good idea about who these
characters are. There is enough of a back story to explain the way they behave
and there is so much chemistry between Matt and Chase that the heat of it
shimmers off the page. In short; this was one very lucky find and a very
promising debut for these two authors. And now that I’ve been introduced to
Nikka Michaels and Eileen Griffin I can only hope that they’ll continue
writing. As long as they do, either together or with individual works, they’ll
have one faithful reader in me.

One dark evening in London,
photographer Serena Folkes is indulging her impulsive side with a night-time
shoot. But someone is watching her – mysterious entrepreneur Gustav Levi.
Serena doesn’t know it yet, but this handsome stranger will change her life
forever…

Serena is fascinated by Gustav, the enigmatic owner of the Levi Gallery, and
she soon feels an irresistible pull of attraction. The interest is mutual, and
Gustav promises to launch Serena’s photographic career at his gallery, but only
if Serena agrees to become his exclusive companion.

To mark their agreement, Gustav gives Serena a bracelet to wear at all times.
Attached to it is a silver chain of which he is the keeper. With the chain
Gustav controls Serena physically and symbolically – a sign that she is under
his power.

As their passionate relationship intensifies, Gustav’s hold on the silver chain
grows stronger. But will Gustav’s dark past tear them apart?”

==============================================================

Aspiring
photographer Serena Folkes leaves behind the lover of her teenage years when
she travels to London,
convinced that she is done with men. It is a conviction that will last less
than 48 hours.

While she is out
about town on Halloween night she meets an intriguing man. She knows she should
be careful about engaging with strangers but something about this man cuts
right through her reservations. This man, Gustav Levi, doesn’t send of a
dangerous vibe - well he does, but in an intriguing way, not one that makes her
feel threatened.

“But Gustave Levi is not just
any old company. I have the weirdest feeling that he’s picked me.”

While Serena cuts
her evening with Gustav short, she can’t get him out of her head. And when they
meet again because she has left her camera in his care he offers her a deal
that will ensure that the two of them will get to spend a lot of time together.
He will show a collection of her photographs in his gallery if she signs
herself over to him until all the pictures have sold. Delighted to be given
this opportunity and intrigued by and attracted to the man, Serena doesn’t have
to think twice before she signs on the dotted line. A deal Gustav seals by
locking a silver bracelet around Serena’s wrist. A bracelet to which he can,
and will, attached a silver chain; proof that she is fully connected to him.

“But the instant I’m chained
to him, I’m anchored.”

While Serena is
mesmerized by Gustav there is a lot about him she can’t explain. He obviously
has issues that stem from a past he is reluctant to share – issues that keep
him far apart from her even while the chain seems to imply they’re very close.
As Gustav’s past is slowly revealed it feeds into Serena’s issues. Having never
felt loved or wanted in her life, it is only too easy for Serena to believe
that she is not what Gustav wants or needs. And worst of all, his actions seem
to confirm that she is not what he is really looking for. Misunderstandings,
mistrust and miscommunication appear determined to keep these two characters
apart. It will take a lot of pain and confusion before Serena realizes that:

“At last it’s me he’s seeing,
Nobody else.”

This was a very
enjoyable read. There is a lot to like in this story. Yes, it does resemble a
lot of other books in that it features a young girl falling under the spell of
an older, more experienced man. This is certainly not the first time I’ve come
across a relationship haunted by dark pasts and deep seated insecurities. But,
while similarities like that have irritated me in the past they didn’t so much
this time around. I liked that Serena is a girl who knows what she wants and
how to get it. She is not the poor little girl who needs the older and richer
man to make her way in life. At all times, while reading this story, I felt
that Serena would have made it on her own – that Gustav only fast-forwarded the
process. I also liked the fact that although there definitely are some aspects
of bondage and domination in this story it shows both sides of that particular
coin – how it can break relationships just as easily as make them.

Having said that,
there were times when Serena’s character was a bit too volatile for me. Serena
seemed to jump from one, strong, emotion to the exact opposite emotion from one
paragraph to the next. While her insecurities made perfect sense, I would have
preferred it if the changes in her state of mind had been a bit less sudden and
frantic. There were pages where I had a hard time keeping up with what exactly
she was feeling and why.

Overall though, I
really liked these characters and their story. And with the sudden, and to me
completely surprising, revelation on the very last page I can’t wait for the
sequel, “The Golden Locket”, even if I haven’t been able to find a
release date for it.

Friday, August 16, 2013

In 1992 Ruth and her husband Michael buy an old and
dilapidated house on the Hebridean island
of Harris intending to
renovate it and turn it into a guesthouse. It isn’t long after they start
working on the house when they make a gruesome discovery. Underneath
floorboards they find the old remains of a baby with its legs and feet fused together.
It is a discovery that will awaken old memories for Ruth. Memories she has been
trying to suppress for a long time; memories that can threaten her sanity and
her future.

In 1860 Reverend Alexander Ferguson, newly ordained
and filled with all the right intentions takes up his post on Harris. A fan of Darwin’s recently
released theories and fascinated by the myths about Selkies and mermaids, the
enthusiastic and innocent man has no idea that his time on the island will
change his life irrevocably. The truth about what happened on that island and
in that house will remain hidden for over a century.

Ruth has her own reasons for being obsessed with
mermaids and Selkies. In order to uncover the secrets from the past she will
have to take a close look at her own past and the pain she has suffered. It is
a journey which could bring her the peace of mind she hasn’t known for decades
or destroy everything she holds dear.

My thoughts:

This is an interesting and very clever book. There are
two stories in this book and both of them are equally powerful and fascinating.
The connecting theme in this book is that of mermaid and Selkie myths. The main
narrators of both stories, Ruth and Alexander Ferguson both have reasons to be
interested in these myths. But, while Ferguson’s
interest is mostly a result of curiosity and a quest for scientific proof,
Ruth’s interest is mainly personal, emotional and painful.

When the story starts almost everything, except the
location in which the story is set and the names of the main characters, is a
mystery. And those mysteries are only slowly uncovered. Ruth’s quest to find
out exactly what happened over a century ago - why there was a baby buried
underneath the floorboards in the house she has bought - initially appears to
be about uncovering a fascinating mystery. It only slowly becomes clear why
both the discovery and what it might mean has such enormous importance for her.
With every new bit of information about what happened in the past, Ruth is
brought back to her own past and memories she’s been more or less successfully
suppressing for decades; memories that may destroy her future unless she finds
the courage to face and deal with them.

Surprisingly enough it wasn’t either Ruth or Ferguson’s voice that was
strongest for me in this book. The character that really struck a note with me
was Moira, Ferguson’s
uneducated but very intelligent servant. Through her eyes we get the clearest
picture of exactly what happened during Ferguson’s
time on Harris. The stories about how the poor tenants were forced to emigrate
to Canada so that the landowner would have more ground to graze his sheep was
heartbreaking – especially since it is so very similar to the forced emigration
from Ireland around the same time.

I really liked that this book managed to keep on
surprising me. Revelations are slowly shared with the reader without giving
away all of the secrets contained in the story until the very end of the book.
The mix between myth and reality was fascinating, especially since the lines
appear blurred at times. And while it is possible to have found a logical
explanation for everything that has happened in the story by the time it ends,
it is equally easy to hang on to some of the mythical aspects of this book.

This is a story about the things that haunt us and the
power they can have over our lives. This is the story of one woman and one man
who, separated by a century, each have to find their true path in life through
dealing with the myths that have formed their pasts and personalities. Through
a wonderful blend of myth, fact and historical conjecture combined with a
fascinating story, Elisabeth Gifford gives her reader a story that will stay
with them for a multitude of reasons.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

This
sexy, emotionally charged romance continues the story of Damien Stark, the
powerful multimillionaire who’s never had to take “no” for an answer, and Nikki
Fairchild, the Southern belle who only says “yes” on her own terms.

Our
desire runs deep. But our secrets cut close. Beautiful, strong, and commanding, Damien
Stark fills a void in me that no other man can touch. His fierce cravings push
me beyond the brink of bliss—and unleash a wild passion that utterly consumes
us both.

Yet beneath his need for dominance, he carries the wounds of a painful past.
Haunted by a legacy of dark secrets and broken trust, he seeks release in our
shared ecstasy, the heat between us burning stronger each day.

Our attraction is undeniable, our obsession inevitable. Yet not even Damien can
run from his ghosts, or shield us from the dangers yet to come.

My thoughts:

You are what I need,
Damien. You’re all that I need.”

Damien and Nikki
are in Germany
where the powerful man has to face murder charges. When an unexpected
development stops the trial almost before it starts it should mean the end to
their problems, but life is rarely that simple and this isn’t one of those rare
occasions. Damien is determined to keep his past the secret it has been for so
long, but it appears that suddenly that decision is no longer in his hands.
Somebody out there can make those sordid secrets public at any time. The fact
that nobody knows who that somebody is only makes the problem bigger.

And there is more.
Gossip about Damien and Nikki is regularly leaked to the tabloids and Nikki has
acquired a stalker who is getting more threatening with each encounter. Facing
so many threats together should bring Damien and Nikki even closer than they
already were but Damien’s instinct to protect Nikki keeps on getting in the
way:

“I believe with all my heart that Damien
loves me. What I fear is that love isn’t enough. Not when he’s determined to
push me away in some misguided attempt to protect me.”

Damien may tell Nikki that:

“At the end of the
day, it’s just you and me. We make our own reality, Nikki. And no one can take
it from us.”

But that doesn’t stop Nikki from worrying that they
are living in a bubble; a bubble that could all too easily be burst by the very
real threats the rest of the world still possess.

Despite the threat of disclosure hanging over Damian
and the stalker issue Nikki is facing, there doesn’t appear to be a whole lot to
this story except for the sex Damien and Nikki seem to engage in as a reaction
to everything that happens to them.

“Between Damien and
me, sex is as necessary as conversation. It is our method of discovery. Our
sharing of trust. And our ultimate surrender.”

Do not get me wrong, I love a good erotic novel and
can easily get caught up in descriptive and imaginative sex-scenes. And some of
the scenes in this book really hit the mark. It is just that there were too
many of them in this book. After so many scenes I reached saturation point and
found myself skimming over the sexy bits to get to the little bit of background
story that had to be hiding somewhere.

As much as I loved passages like the following:

“You’re what gives
me strength. If I am what centers you, Nikki, then you are what anchors me. Nikki don’t
you see? You are the talisman of my life, and if I lose my grip on you, then I
have lost myself.”

It wasn’t quite enough to make this book a truly
satisfying read. It seems to me that the characters could have grown more. The
Damien and Nikki we end this trilogy with are not so very different from the
personalities we met in the first book. In the last paragraph of my review of
“Claim Me” I said that I would read this third and final book not so much
because I was worried about whether or not there would be a happily ever after
but because I wanted to know if these two characters would be able to resolve
all their issues. I really am sorry that I have to end this review with the
observation that while I was right about the relationship I was also right
about those issues. This happily ever after has come to a couple that appears
to be unable to truly come to terms with their pasts. If Damien and Nikki were
real people I would be very worried about their future together.

Sunday, August 11, 2013

It is 1992 and Regina Gottlieb, 20 years old, is
starting her graduate degree. From the very first time she sees him at a poetry
reading, Regina
is mesmerized by Nicholas Brodeur, the seductive English professor with a
rather shocking reputation. Although she is well aware that it may not be the
smartest thing to do, Regina
accepts a job as his assistant and slowly finds herself entering the world
Nicholas and his wife, Martha, inhabit. Getting closer to Nicholas and Martha
means a distance develops between Regina
and her house-mate, friend and occasional lover, Dutra.

While it is Regina’s
fascination with Nicholas Brodeur and his reputation that entices her into his
orbit, he won’t be the subject of her fantasies and desires. A passionate
affair will follow, but instead of Nicholas it will be the person closest to
him who captivates Regina
to such an extent that she disregards the consequences her feelings and actions
will have, both for herself and for those around her. And it won’t be until 15
years later that the conflicts that started in 1992 and their lasting
consequences come to the surface and have a chance of being put to rest.

My thoughts:

I am not entirely sure how I feel about this book or
what to say about it. This a rather typical coming-of-age story in that it
portrays the journey a young woman makes from the innocence and happy-go-lucky
lifestyle so typical of teenagers to the very real and harsh consequences that
an affair and first deep, but unattainable love can bring. And the gravity of
everything Regina
encounters and experiences jumps of the page in the form of long and at times
seemingly mindless descriptions of everything she sees, feels, does and
experiences. And that is where my main issue with this book lies. While I
realise that those first encounters with deep but impossible love can turn us
into philosophers, I can’t help feeling that this book, or rather the writing
in it, was trying to be a bit too clever. Overly long and detailed descriptions
and complicated structures to the sentences forced me regularly to re-read a
sentence or paragraph multiple times before I got the meaning. And this enforced
re-reading kept on taking me out of what was a very interesting story.

Because, while the main story-line was fascinating, it
seemed to take a back-seat to all those descriptions. After almost 400 pages I
can only say that at all times I felt that very little was actually happening
in this story. The emotions as experienced by Regina never quite seemed to
match that which was happening to her and despite all the descriptions I never
developed an understanding for her actions or a clear picture of what was
motivating the other characters caught up in this drama.

I guess it is hard to get truly involved in a story in
which the object of everybody’s desires is a character I can’t find attractive
and, probably more importantly, can’t imagine anybody else finding attractive
either. Because it isn’t really Regina’s
actions that upset everybody’s lives. In fact, you could say that while Regina is the one
relating this story she isn’t really the main catalyst in it. That honour, in
my opinion, falls to the person she has her affair with, the person I could
never get a handle on or sympathise with.

From the description on the back of this book it would
be easy to get the impression that this is a work of erotic fiction; however it
isn’t. While an affair plays a huge and devastating part in this story, and
that affair is definitely passionate, this is not the sort of book that
indulges in detailed or long descriptions of intimacy. This is a book about
feelings, about acting on those feelings and the consequences those actions can
have, not only on the lives of those personally caught up in that passion but
also on those around them. This is a literary novel about love, lust, betrayal
and devastation. It is a story about growing up and recognising the
consequences of our actions, even if it takes years for the real consequences
to come to the surface.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I liked the
story, or the idea behind it, but didn’t – always – enjoy the way in which it
was told. To me this book seemed at times overly descriptive and lyrical which
made it a slow and at times a bit of a hard to follow reading experience for
me. I can’t help feeling though that this may well be a deficiency on my part
rather than a fault of the author. If you enjoy a thoughtful, descriptive and
introspective story written by someone who uses words masterfully as well as
abundantly, you will probably love this book.

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About Me

My name is Marleen. I'm Dutch but have been living in Ireland for well over 15 years now. I have a passion and love for reading and books. Since early 2008 I have been lucky enough to have been working part time in the library in Bailieborough, Co. Cavan where among other things I run the library reading group.
I will read almost anything that has words in it, and post my thoughts on everything I read in this blog:

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In this blog I write my thoughts on every book I read. Some I will have brought home from the library, some will have been bought while others will have been sent to me for review. I do not get paid for reading and reviewing any books and all opinions are mine and mine alone. Whether a book was borrowed, bought or received will be indicated at the top of every review.

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